The Butana (Arabic: البطانة, Buṭāna), historically called the Island of Meroë, is the region between the Atbara and the Nile in the Sudan. South of Khartoum it is bordered by the Blue Nile and in the east by Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It should not be confused with the Gezira, the region west of the Blue Nile and east of the White Nile.
Geological characteristics of the Butana are sandy and stony soils, light non-cracking clay, and dark cracking clay; the superficial clays cover over 70% of the plain.[1] Although there are very limited water resources, seasonal surface water wells and a few deep bore wells are present. A tropical continental climate provides rain in the southern section of the plain. Two vegetation zones feature a semi-desert Acacia shrub, short grasslands, and a low woodland savannah.[2]
Today it is mainly inhabited by the Sudanese Arabs of Sudan, such as the Shukria clan, the Batahin, the Lahawiin, the Rufaa people, Rashaida, the Ansar, the Awazim, and other Arabian tribes. However, the Butana has been identified as mainly the domain of the powerful Shukria clan and their ruling family of "Abusin." The Shukria have, through power of arms, become overlords of the Butana since the 17th century. In local poetry, the Butana is numerously referred to as "the Butana of Abusin" in reference to the Shukria tribal chief Ahmad Bey ibn 'Awad el Kerim of whom Sir Samuel Baker has left so vivid a portrait. It is also sometimes referred to as "the Butana of Abu Ali" in reference to a distant ancestor of Ahmed Bey Abusin credited for ensuring the triumph of the victorious Shukira in the 17th century.
